In psychiatry, autism (called autistic disorder
in the DSM) is considered a neurodevelopmental disorder that causes marked
problems with social relatedness, communication, interest, and behavior.
It is considered to be one of the five types of pervasive developmental disorders
(or autism spectrum disorders).

Typical characteristics include great difficulty
in communicating with others, inability to understand jokes or read between
the lines, and a somewhat unintentional lack of consideration for those outside
of their 'sensory independence'; their independent world.

Typically, autism spectrum disorders appear during
the first three years of life. It is estimated that it occurs in approximately
4 to 12 in 10,000 individuals, and is 4 times more prevalent in males than
females.

While certain (inconclusive) treatments for autism
exist, it is widely considered that absolute cure from autism is impossible
since it involves aspects of neurological brain structure determined very
early in development.

Indeed, many people with autism (and some
non-autistic allies) in the "autism rights movement" do not wish autism to
be cured. They see autism not as a disorder but as a way of being, and see
attempts to cure autism in the same light as an attempt to "cure" someone
from any other minority group.

History

The classification of autism did not occur until
the middle of the twentieth century. In 1943, Dr. Leo Kanner of the Johns
Hopkins Hospital studied a group of 11 children and introduced the label
early infantile autism. At the same time a German scientist, Dr. Hans Asperger,
described a different form of autism that became known as Asperger's syndrome
 but the widespread recognition of Asperger's work was delayed by World
War II in Germany.

Thus these two disorders were described and are
today listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
DSM-IV-TR (fourth edition, text revision 1) as two of the five pervasive
developmental disorders (PDD), more often referred to today as autism spectrum
disorders (ASD). All these disorders are characterized by varying degrees
of difference in communication skills, social interactions, and restricted,
repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior.

Symptoms

Possible Indicators of Autism Spectrum
Disorders:

* Does not babble, point, or make meaningful
gestures by 1 year of age

* Does not speak one word by 16 months

* Does not combine two words by 2 years

* Does not respond to name

* Appears to be deaf or 'wanders'

Some other indicators:

* Lacks eye contact

* Does not seem to know how to play with toys
in the usual manner

* Excessively lines up toys or other objects

* Is attached to one particular toy or
object

* Does not smile (socially, but may smile during
periods of self-stimulatory behavior).

Social symptoms

From the start, typically developing infants
are social beings. Early in life, they gaze at people, turn toward voices,
grasp a finger, and even smile. In contrast, most autistic children prefer
objects to faces and seem to have tremendous difficulty learning to engage
in the give-and-take of everyday human interaction. Even in the first few
months of life, many do not interact and will avoid eye contact, seeming
indifferent to other people.

Autistic children often appear to prefer being
alone rather than in the company of others, may resist attention or passively
accept such things as hugs and cuddling without caring. Later, they seldom
seek comfort or respond to parents' displays of anger or affection in a typical
way. Research has suggested that although autistic children are attached
to their parents, their expression of this attachment is unusual and difficult
to interpret. Parents who looked forward to the joys of cuddling, teaching,
and playing with their child may feel crushed by this lack of the expected
and typical attachment behavior.

Autistic children categorically lack 'theory
of mind', meaning that they are incapable of behavior cited as exclusive
to higher primates such as adult gorillas, adult chimpanzees, adult bonobos
and children above the age of five. Without the ability to interpret gestures
and facial expressions, the social world may seem bewildering. To compound
the problem, people on the autism spectrum have difficulty seeing things
from another person's perspective. Typical 5-year-olds understand that other
people have different knowledge, feelings, and intentions. An autistic person
lacks this understanding, an inability that leaves them unable to predict
or understand other people's actions.

Although not universal, it is common for autistic
people to have difficulty regulating their behavior. This can take the form
of "immature" behavior such as crying in class or verbal outbursts that seem
inappropriate to those around them. The autistic individual might also be
disruptive and physically aggressive at times, making social relationships
still more difficult. They have a tendency to "lose control," particularly
when they are in a strange or overwhelming environment, or when angry and
frustrated. They may at times break things, attack others, or hurt themselves.
In their frustration, some bang their heads, pull their hair, or bite their
arms.

Imaginary friends

The social alienation of autistic and Asperger's
people is so intense from childhood that many of them have imaginary friends
as companionship. However, having an imaginary friend is not necessarily
a sign of autism and may be common in neurotypicals.

Communication
difficulties

By age 3, typical children have passed predictable
milestones on the path to learning language; one of the earliest is babbling.
By the first birthday, a typical toddler says words, turns when he hears
his name, points when he wants a toy, and when offered something distasteful,
makes it clear that the answer is "no."

Speech development in autism takes a different
developmental path than in neurotypical children. Some autistics remain mute
throughout their lives, while being fully literate and able to communicate
in other ways  images, sign language, and typing are far more natural
to them. Some infants who later show signs of autism coo and babble during
the first few months of life, but stop soon afterwards. Others may be delayed,
developing language as late as the teenage years. Still, inability to speak
does not mean that autistics are unintelligent or unaware. Once given appropriate
accommodations, many will happily "talk" for hours, and can often be found
in autism-focused chat rooms, discussion boards, or websites, or even using
communication devices at autism-community social events such as Autreat.

Those who do speak often use language in unusual
ways, retaining features of earlier stages of language development for long
periods or throughout their lives. Some speak only single words, while others
repeat the same phrase over and over. Some repeat what they hear, a condition
called echolalia. Sing-song repetitions in particular are a calming, joyous
activity that many autistic adults engage in. Many autistics have a strong
tonal sense, and can often understand spoken language better if it is sung
to them.

Some children may exhibit only slight delays
in language, or even seem to have precocious language and unusually large
vocabularies, but have great difficulty in sustaining typical conversations.
The "give and take" of conversation is hard for them, although they often
carry on a monologue on a favorite subject, giving no one else an opportunity
to comment. When given the chance to interact with other autistics, they
comfortably do so in "parallel monologue"  taking turns expressing
views and information. Just as neurotypicals are not designed to understand
autistic body languages, vocal tones, or phraseology, autistics similarly
have trouble with such things in neurotypicals. In particular, autistic language
abilities tend to be highly literal; neurotypicals often inappropriately
attribute hidden "meaning" to what autistics say or expect the autistic to
sense such unstated meaning in their own words.

The body language of autistics can be difficult
for neurotypicals to understand. Facial expressions, movements, and gestures
may be easily understood by some other autistics, but do not match those
used by neurotypicals. Also, their tone of voice has a much more subtle
inflection in reflecting their feelings, and the neurotypical auditory system
often cannot sense the fluctuations. What seems to NTs like a high-pitched,
sing-song, or flat, robot-like voice is common. Some children with relatively
good language skills speak like little adults, rather than utilizing the
immature "kid-speak" that is common in their neurotypical peers.

Since neurotypicals are often unfamiliar with
the autistic body language, and since autistic natural language may not tend
towards speech, autistic people often struggle to let others know what they
need. As anybody might do in such a situation, they may scream in frustration
or resort to grabbing what they want. While waiting for neurotypicals to
learn to communicate with them, autistics do whatever they can to get through
to them. Communication difficulties may contribute to autistic people becoming
anxious or depressed.

Repetitive
behaviors

Although autistics usually appear physically
normal and have good muscle control, unusual repetitive motions, known as
self-stimulation or "stimming," may set them apart. These behaviors might
be extreme and highly apparent or more subtle. Some children and older
individuals spend a lot of time repeatedly flapping their arms or walking
on their toes, others suddenly freeze in position.

As children, they might spend hours lining up
their cars and trains in a certain way, rather than using them for pretend
play. If someone accidentally moves one of these toys, the child may be
tremendously upset. Autistic children often need, and demand, absolute
consistency in their environment. A slight change in any routinein
mealtimes, dressing, taking a bath, or going to school at a certain time
and by the same routecan be extremely disturbing.

Repetitive behavior sometimes takes the form
of a persistent, intense preoccupation. For example, the child might be obsessed
with learning all about vacuum cleaners, train schedules, or lighthouses.
Often they show great interest in numbers, symbols, or science topics.

Severity of
symptoms

Autism presents in a wide degree, from those
who are nearly dysfunctional and apparently mentally retarded to those whose
symptoms are mild or remedied enough to appear unexceptional ('normal') to
the general public. These autistic persons are often classified as "nerds"
or "geeks" by their peers.

"Low-" and
"high-functioning"

In terms of both classification and therapy,
autistic individuals are often divided into those with an IQ less than 80
referred to as having "low-functioning autism" (LFA), while those with IQ
greater than 80 are referred to as having "high functioning autism" (HFA).
Low and high functioning are more generally applied to how well an individual
can accomplish activities of daily living, rather than to IQ. The terms low-
and high-functioning are controversial and not all autistics accept these
labels.

This discrepancy can lead to confusion among
service providers who equate IQ with functioning and may refuse to serve
high-IQ autistic people who are severely compromised in their ability to
perform daily living tasks, or may fail to recognize the intellectual potential
of many autistic people who are considered LFA. For example, some professionals
refuse to recognize autistics who can speak or write as being autistic at
all, because they still think of autism as a communication disorder so severe
that no speech or writing is possible.

As a consequence, "high-functioning" autistic
persons, and autistic people with a relatively high IQ, are under-diagnosed,
thus making the claim that "autism implies retardation" self-fulfilling.
The number of people diagnosed with LFA is not rising quite as sharply as
HFA, indicating that at least part of the explanation for the apparent rise
is probably better diagnostics.

Asperger's and Kanner's
syndrome

In the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual
of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR), the most significant difference between
Autistic Disorder (Kanner's) and Asperger's syndrome is that a diagnosis
of the former includes the observation of "[d]elays or abnormal functioning
in at least one of the following areas, with onset prior to age 3 years:
(1) social interaction, (2) language as used in social communication, or
(3) symbolic or imaginative play[,]" while in these areas a diagnosis of
Asperger's observes "no clinically significant delay."

The DSM makes no mention of level of intellectual
functioning, but the fact that Asperger's autistics as a group tend to perform
better than those with Kanner's autism has produced a popular conception
that Asperger's syndrome is synonymous with "higher functioning autism,"
or that it is a lesser disorder than autism. There is also a popular but
not necessarily true conception that all autistic individuals with a high
level of intellectual functioning have Asperger's autism or that both types
are merely geeks with a medical label attached.

Autism has evolved in the public understanding,
but the popular identification of autism with relatively severe cases as
accurately presented in Rain Man has encouraged relatives of family members
diagnosed in the autistic spectrum to speak of their loved ones as having
Asperger's syndrome rather than autism.

As of 2003, psychiatric professionals have been
considering redefining Asperger's autism and renaming it as Crypto Sensitivity
Syndrome.

Autism as a spectrum
disorder

Another view of these disorders is that they
are on a continuum known as autistic spectrum disorders. Another related
continuum is Sensory Integration Dysfunction, which is about how well we
integrate the information we receive from our senses. Autism, Asperger's
syndrome, and Sensory Integration Dysfunction are all closely related and
overlap.

Some high-achieving individuals are thought to
have had some form of autism. However, this may be a favoured diagnosis due
to the high current visibility of autism in the popular press.

There are two main manifestations of classical
autism, regressive autism and early infantile autism. Early infantile autism
is present at birth while regressive autism begins at approximately 18 months.
There are also cases of children developing normally from birth but regressing
around the age of 18 months, causing some degree of controversy as to when
the neurological difference involved in autism truly began.

Rett syndrome

Rett syndrome is relatively rare, affecting almost
exclusively females, one out of 10,000 to 15,000. After a period of normal
development, sometime between 6 and 18 months, autism-like symptoms begin
to appear. The little girl's mental and social development regresses; she
no longer responds to her parents and pulls away from any social contact.
If she has been talking, she stops; she cannot control her feet; she wrings
her hands. Some of the problems associated with Rett syndrome can be treated.
Physical, occupational, and speech therapy can help with problems of
coordination, movement, and speech.

Scientists sponsored by the National Institute
of Child Health and Human Development have discovered that a mutation in
the sequence of a single gene can cause Rett syndrome. This discovery may
help doctors slow or stop the progress of the syndrome. It may also lead
to methods of screening for Rett syndrome, thus enabling doctors to start
treating these children much sooner, and improving the quality of life these
children experience.

Childhood disintegrative
disorder

Very few children who have an autism spectrum
disorder diagnosis meet the criteria for childhood disintegrative disorder
(CDD). An estimate based on four surveys of ASD found fewer than two children
per 100,000 with ASD could be classified as having CDD. This suggests that
CDD is a very rare form of ASD. It has a strong male preponderance.** Symptoms
may appear by age 2, but the average age of onset is between 3 and 4 years.
Until this time, the child has age-appropriate skills in communication and
social relationships. The long period of normal development before regression
helps differentiate CDD from Rett syndrome.

***Volkmar RM and Rutter M. Childhood disintegrative
disorder: Results of the DSM-IV autism field trial. Journal of the American
Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 1995; 34: 1092-1095.

Increase in diagnoses of
autism

There has been an explosion worldwide in reported
cases of autism over the last ten years. In the last decade, the population
of the United States has increased by 13%. There has been an increase in
non-autism-related disabilities of 16%. The increase in autism is 173%.

There has been considerable speculation as to
why this might be, with no conclusive proof emerging around any theory.
Epidemiologists argue that the rise is either partly or entirely attributable
to changes in diagnostic criteria, reclassifications, public awareness, and
the incentive to tap into federally mandated services.

A widely cited study from the M.I.N.D. Institute
in California (Oct 17, 2002), concluded that the increase is real, even after
those complicating factors are accounted for.

Other researchers remain unconvinced (see references
below), including Dr. Chris Johnson, a professor of pediatrics at the University
of Texas Health Sciences Center at San Antonio and co-chair of the American
Academy of Pediatrics Autism Expert Panel, who says, There is a chance
were seeing a true rise, but right now I dont think anybody can
answer that question for sure.

The answer to this question has significant
ramifications on the direction of research, since a real increase would focus
more attention (and research funding) on the search for environmental factors,
while a consensus for little or no real increase would direct more attention
to genetics. On the other hand, it is conceivable that certain environmental
factors (vaccination, diet, societal changes) may have a particular impact
on people with a specific genetic constitution.

There is little public research on the effects
of in-vitro fertilization on the number of incidences of autism.

In 2001, Wired Magazine published an interesting
speculative article The Geek Syndrome exploring the surge in apparent autism
in Silicon Valley. This is only one example of the media's application of
mental disease labels to what is actually variant normal behavior. Shyness,
lack of athletic ability or social skills, and intellectual interests, even
when they seem unusual to others, are not in themselves signs of autism or
Asperger's syndrome.

Remediation of autistic
behaviors

Remediation of the debilitating aspects of autism
is hindered by widespread disagreement over its nature and causes, and by
a lack of recognized and effective therapies.

The behavioral and cognitive functioning of
individuals with autism can improve with the help of psychosocial and
pharmacological interventions. Among psychosocial treatments, intensive,
sustained special education programs and behavior therapy early in life can
increase the ability of children with autism to acquire language and the
ability to learn. In adults with autism, some studies have found beneficial
effects of the antidepressant medications clomipramine and fluoxetine. There
is also evidence that the antipsychotic medication haloperidol can be helpful;
however, the risk of serious side effects is significant in children.

Dr. Bruno Bettelheim believed that autism was
linked to trauma in early childhood, and his work was highly influential
for decades. Parents, and especially mothers, of autistics were blamed for
having caused their child's condition through the withholding of affection.
Leo Kanner, who first described autism (Autistic disturbances of affective
contact, 1943) originated the "refrigerator mother" hypothesis, which held
that autism was at least partly caused by a lack of affection from the autistic
child's mother. Although Kanner eventually renounced the concept and apologized
publicly, Bettelheim took the theory further. These theories did nothing
to address the fact that having more than one autistic child in a family
is exceptional, not the rule. Treatments based on these theories failed to
help autistic children.

Applied Behavior
Analysis

A major breakthrough in the remediation of autistic
behaviors came through work spearheaded by Ole Ivar Lovaas, who believed
that success could be obtained by behavioral approaches.

Lovaas' approachesoften referred to as
Discrete Trial, Intensive Behavior Intervention, and Applied Behavior
Analysisare some of the best known and most widely used in the field
and focus on the development of attention, imitation, receptive or expressive
language, and pre-academic and self-help skills. Using a one-to-one
therapist-child ratio and the antecedent-behavior-consequence
(ABC) model, interventions based on this work involve trials or tasks. Each
consists of (a) an antecedent, which is a directive or request for the child
to perform an action; (b) a behavior, or response from the child, which may
be categorized as successful performance, noncompliance, or no response;
and (c) a consequence, defined as the reaction from the therapist, which
ranges from strong positive reinforcement to a strong negative response,
No!(Autism Society of America, 2001).

Lovaas' Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) methods
were the first scientifically validated therapy for autism. Early intervention,
generally before school-age, is critical for children who would benefit from
these programs.

The scientific validity of Lovaas's methods is
questioned by many professionals as well as parents and autistics themselves,
however, who point out that true ABA is based around the use of aversives
which could be experienced by an autistic person as confusing and painful
[5]. Nevertheless, some believe that ethical reasons exist for applying Lovaas's
techniques. Some behaviorist programs for autistics employ no aversives at
all and do not attempt to "extinguish" behaviors such as rocking or spinning
which autistics use for calming purposes.

ABA may not be appropriate for every autistic
or developmentally delayed child. ABA has come into widespread use only in
the last decade and the demand is outstripping the supply of committed and
experienced service providers. As a result, parents of children need to be
extra vigilant in choosing appropriate treatments for their children and
especially in choosing providers, who may be inexperienced, use questionable
methods or even deceive parents that they are competent to run an ABA or
any other program. Such problems have led to horror stories from some
parents.

Relationship Development
Intervention

Relationship Development Intervention (RDI) is
a research-based treatment program developed by Dr. Steven E. Gutstein. Whereas
ABA aims to teach social skills directly, RDI focuses on building the "dynamic
intelligence" that underlies the acquisition of those social skills in
neurotypical children. It also focuses on the building blocks of motivation
by developing episodic memory (seen as impaired in autism) and filling it
with the child's own personal stories of competence and mastery. RDI emphasizes
declarative (as opposed to imperative) communication, and aims for an appropriate
balance of verbal and non-verbal communication.

Dr. Gutstein claims that 70% of his patients
improved their ADOS score within 18 months, which is unprecedented (it was
previously thought that improvement on the ADOS was impossible), and that
a similar proportion are able to enter school without a shadow teacher or
other personal assistant.

Son-Rise

The Son-Rise program was developed by Barry Kaufman,
who founded the Option Institute to promulgate his more general philosophy
upon which the Son-Rise program is partially based, and to provide training
in this treatment approach. It is a home-based program with emphasis on
observing, accepting the child without judgement, and engaging the child
in a non-coercive way.

Autism and
computing

Computers can be an ideal environment for promoting
communication, sociabilility, creativity, and playfulness for individuals
even at the extreme of the autistic spectrum. This is the opinion of the
non-profit group Autism and Computing. They argue that the central feature
of autism is attention-tunneling, or monotropism. Computers would afford
an easy way of joining attention tunnels with minimal mutual discomfort,
circumventing some of the most disabling features of autistic spectrum disorders.
The potential for computer use in treating autism would not just be educational
but therapeutic.

Gluten free casein free
diet

Dr. Karl Ludwig Reichelt claims to have found
peptides from casein and gluten that worsen the symptoms of autistic children.
The peptides are casomorphines and gluten exorphines, which influence the
brain. According to Dr. Reichelt, significant improvement has been seen in
the symptoms of autistic children on a diet that omits these peptides. The
physicians who have the most success in treating autism see diet as a central
part of the treatment, but in addition use many other treatments at the same
time.

Autistic savants

The autistic savant phenomenon is sometimes seen
in autistic people. The term is used to describe a person who is autistic
who has extreme talent in a certain area of study. Although there is a common
association between savants and autism (an association created by the 1988
film "Rain Man"), many autistic people are not savants. Calendar calculators
and fast programming skills are the most common form. Some famous examples
are Daniel Tammet, the subject of the documentary film The Brain Man and
Kim Peek, the inspiration for Dustin Hoffman's character in the film Rain
Man. It is estimated that 10% of autists are savants, compared to 1/2% of
other people.

Causes of autism theories
(Brain testosterone theory)

Simon Baron-Cohen proposes a model for autism
based in his empathising-systemising (E-S) theory
(http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/feature/story/0,13026,937913,00.html). His
team at the Autism Research Centre in Cambridge, UK, measured testosterone
levels in the amniotic fluid of mothers while pregnant. This is presumed
to reflect levels in the babies themselves. The team found that the babies
with higher fetal testosterone levels had a smaller vocabulary and made eye
contact less often when they were a year old.

His group has looked at the original 58 children
again, at age four. The researchers found that the children with higher
testosterone in the womb are less developed socially, and the interests of
boys are more restricted than girls. The results will be published in the
Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry (2004).

Baron-Cohen theorizes that high fetal testosterone
levels push brain development towards an improved ability to see patterns
and analyse systems. Males supposedly tend to be better at these tasks than
females. But the high levels are thought to inhibit the development of
communication and empathy, which are allegedly typical female skills. (New
Scientist, 24 May 2003). There is still no demonstrable evidence that
testosterone levels affect brain development at all, let alone autism. Gender
or bio-determinism is a fashionable explanation for many human behaviours,
but has been challenged by other professionals.

Causes of autism theories
(Vaccine theory)

Research by Andrew Wakefield in the UK, published
in The Lancet in February 1998 suggested a possible link between autism and
the MMR vaccine. This was very controversial. Subsequent studies failed to
confirm the link, and some in fact showed a lack of such a link. The original
research has come under criticism, largely due to a conflict of interest
on Wakefield's part. In February 2004 The Lancet described the research as
"entirely flawed" and said that it should never have been published. Controversy
continues, with Wakefield defending his integrity.

Critics with statistical skills have claimed
that Wakefield is incompetent in statistics, and failed to recognize the
bias of his sample, among other obvious flaws. Wakefield's nonscientific
study and its continuing circulation in autism societies is sometimes depicted
by the media as a "proof" no autism-vaccine connection exists and "it's 100%
hype", a position that wasn't proven either (even if most cases are not MMR
or vaccine related).

Research in the US suggesting a similar link
between autism and DPT vaccine. It isn't however the large majority of autism
that would come from vaccines, unlike early claims from Wakefield.

Causes of autism theories
(Brain trauma)

Susan Bryson has said that some autistics have
evidence of trauma to the brain stem in early development, and that a small
portion of the thalidomide victims have become autistic. The victims' limbs
were normal unless thalidomide use continued later in the pregnancy. The
brain stem anomaly's most striking feature is inability to focus attention
away from a stimulus in a short time like neurotypicals, as demonstrated
in a psychological test.

Neurology-skilled Aspies claim the inability
to shift attention quickly interferes with the ability to read nonverbal
language where fast attention shifts are needed (such as eye language),
suggesting that being nonverbal is not a primary feature of autism. Strong
and shiftless focus is however a benefit in some areas like science, programming,
and advanced mathematics. This is supported by the monotropism
hypothesis.

Dr. Bernard Rimland's influential research and
his book Infantile Autism (1967) argued that autism was not caused by childhood
trauma or abuse, but by damage to certain areas of the brain, particularly
the reticular formation which associates present sensory input with memories
of past experiences. Dr. Rimland is a foremost advocate of the theory that
autism may be precipitated by mercury and heavy metal toxicity. He also is
prominent in increasingly common claims of successful treatment of autism
in childrenparticularly regarding improvements in ability to comprehend
the spoken wordwith the gluten-free, casein-free diet and mercury chelation
therapy.

Neurobiology-skilled Aspies have often claimed
Dr. Bernard Rimland's methods cure heavy metal poisoning, but not autism.
Curing heavy metal poisoning when it is present is a worthy goal (it helps
with IQ and other learning difficulties as well as general health), but claiming
a cure for autism is a misrepresentation. Heavy metal poisoning may be more
common among autistics due to a severe metallothionein deficiency, but heavy
metals don't cause autism. They might make you more likely to get an autism
diagnosis, though.

Causes of autism theories
(Viruses or bacterial infection)

A growing body of peer-reviewed studies published
in mainstream journals has shown that many common diseases of unknown origin
are in fact caused by the presence of slowly acting viruses. For example,
cervical cancer is caused by the human papilloma wart virus; some cases of
liver cancer are caused by hepatitis C or B; Schizophrenia may be caused
by Borna virus. Paul W. Ewald, among others, argues that the available data
on the origin of autism is consistent with it being caused by a virus or
bacterial infection.

Adults with an autism spectrum
disorder

Some autistic adults, especially those with
high-functioning autism or with Asperger's syndrome, are able to work
successfully in mainstream jobs (though many are unemployed). Nevertheless,
communication and social problems often cause difficulties in many areas
of life.

Many other autistics are capable of employment
in sheltered workshops under the supervision of managers trained in working
with persons with disabilities. A nurturing environment at home, at school,
and later in job training and at work, helps autistic people continue to
learn and to develop throughout their lives.

In the United States, the public schools'
responsibility for providing services ends when the autistic person is in
their 20s, depending on each state. The family is then faced with the challenge
of finding living arrangements and employment to match the particular needs
of their adult child, as well as the programs and facilities that can provide
support services to achieve these goals.

Biographies of autistic
adults

Both Oliver Sacks and Torey Hayden have written
about their autistic patients or pupils, respectively. Temple Grandin has
also written about her own life as a person with autism. Donna Williams in
her books, including Autism: an inside-out approach (ISBN 1-85302-387-6),
gives an interesting perspective on the experience of a person with autism
and the degree to which recovery is possible. Many other people who have
autism have written books on the condition (and on other topics).

Proposed models of
autism

The causes and origins of autism and Asperger's
syndrome are a source of continuing conjecture and debate. Amongst several
competing theories are the underconnectivity theory developed by cognitive
scientists at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh,
the Neanderthal theory, the extreme male brain theory by Simon Baron Cohen,
the lack of theory of mind, and the Preoperational-autism theory.

The extreme male brain
theory

The extreme male brain theory of autism, proposed
by Simon Baron-Cohen in accordance with his empathizing-systemizing theory,
suggests that autistics have extreme forms of what he describes as the male
brain: they're good (often very good) at systemising, and very bad at
empathizing. The poetry composed by autistics who can communicate by writing
would seem to challenge this idea, but the scientific jury is still out.

The Preoperational-Autism
Theory

The Preoperational-Autism theory states that
autistic people are those who get neurologically stuck at the pre-operational
stage of cognitive development, where much of information processing is at
a wholistic-visual level and largely musical and non-verbal. This also addresses
the issue of the theory of mind where children at the pre-operational stage
of cognitive development have not attained decentralization from
egocentrism.

The Neanderthal
Theory

The Neanderthal Theory is that autism and other
psychiatric conditions evolved from interbreeding between Homo Sapiens and
Neanderthals. This interbreeding is believed to have caused genetic material
from the Neanderthals to enter the Homo Sapiens genome. Whether such
interbreeding ever actually occurred is controversial, and this theory is
extremely speculative.

Monotropism

The monotropism hypothesis argues that the central
feature of autism is attention-tunneling, or monotropism. The hypothesis
is founded on the model Mind as a Dynamical System: Implications for Autism.
In this model of mind, the fundamental and limited resource is mental attention.
Mental events compete for and consume attention. In a polytropic mind, many
interests are aroused to a moderate degree. In a monotropic mind, few interests
are very highly aroused. When many interests are aroused, multiple complex
behaviours emerge. When few interests are aroused, a few intensely motivated
behaviours are engendered. From monotropism hypothesis, autism results from
different strategies of distributing attention in the brain.

Underconnectivity
Theory

The underconnectivity theory indicates a deficiency
in the coordination among brain areas (the brain is known to be modular).
With the aid of (fMRI), it was seen that white matter, which connects various
areas of the brain like cables, has abnormalities in people with autism.

The underconnectivity theory holds that autism
is a system-wide brain disorder that limits the coordination and integration
among brain areas. This theory is parsimonious, in that it explains why autistic
people are matured on certain dimensions eg: visual information processing
and logical analysis, and yet are socially and sometimes neuro-physiologically,
significantly younger than their chronological age. The underconnectivity
theory can be regarded as monotropism in the brain.

Mindblindness
theory

The analysis of autism as "mind blindness"the
inability to create models of other people's thoughts. The typical example
of this is "where does X look for the object they stored, but which was moved
by Y"see theory of mind. Not all autistics fit this pattern,
however.

Other Theories

Other theories address the rise of autism in
recent times. They suggests the rise of visual media and thereby the increasing
central role of visual information processing in the breakdown of language
and the rise of autism.

The information above is not intended
for and should not be used as a substitute for the diagnosis and/or treatment
by a licensed, qualified, health-care professional. This article is licensed
under the GNU Free Documentation
License. It incorporates material originating from the Wikipedia article
"Autism".